Difficulty Level
The Difficulty Level of a game in the Kingdom Hearts series determines enemy strength and limitations the player will be presented with during gameplay. Players can choose a difficulty level to clear the game on when they first start a new game, but they cannot change difficulty levels once they have started, however this is changed in Kingdom Hearts Re:coded with interchangeable difficulties. The hardest difficulty is , followed by , then , and then . Critical Mode is available in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance ''and Kingdom Hearts III,'' however it was first made available to international players in the international releases of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. The first time Proud Mode became available for international players was in Kingdom Hearts II and it has been in all games since. List of difficulties in each game ''Kingdom Hearts *Beginner Mode (named "Final Mix: Beginner") *Normal Mode *Standard Mode (named "Final Mix") *Expert Mode *Proud Mode (named "Final Mix: Proud") ''Kingdom Hearts II *Beginner Mode *Standard Mode *Proud Mode *Critical Mode ''Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories'' *Beginner Mode *Standard Mode *Proud Mode ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days *Beginner Mode *Standard Mode *Proud Mode Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep *Beginner Mode *Standard Mode *Proud Mode *Critical Mode (Only in NA/EU versions and Final Mix) ''Kingdom Hearts coded and Re:coded *Beginner Mode *Standard Mode *Proud Mode *Critical Mode ''Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance'' *Beginner Mode *Standard Mode *Proud Mode *Critical Mode (must be unlocked) ''Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-'' * Beginner Mode * Standard Mode * Proud Mode * Critical Mode (must be unlocked) Normal and Expert Modes These difficulty settings are exclusive to the initial, non-FM variants of Kingdom Hearts 1. The only difference between Normal and Expert difficulty is that enemies in Expert deal double damage, and in Expert, a "Battle Report" is shown after the end credits, detailing various statistics from your journey. Depending upon your completion percentage, you can see two different pieces of artwork. Beginner Mode ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' *Player starts off with a Ribbon, an EXP Chain, 8 Power Ups, 8 Guard Ups and 4 AP Ups. *Player deals triple damage. *Gummi Ship takes half damage. *The Drill Gummi's Attack Power is 9,999 instead of 35. *Both "Another side, Another story..." and "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]" are not accessible. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' * Player deals double damage. * Player takes half damage. * "The Gathering" is not accessible. ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'' * Same as above, except that "The Gathering" is unlocked upon completing the game and "Birth by sleep" is not accessible. ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days *Player takes 70% damage. *HP prize recovery is doubled. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep *Player deals 50% more damage. *Player takes half damage. *"Blank Points" is not accessible. *On the PSP XMB, there is an omega (Ω) symbol attached to the save data file on the memory stick. ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance * Risky Winds never happen. * Must collect thirteen or more trophies to unlock "Another Guardian of Light". ''Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-'' * Player deals 50% more damage. * Player takes half damage. Standard Mode ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' *Player deals normal damage. *Gummi Ship takes normal damage. *Must find all 99 Puppies and seal every Keyhole to unlock "Another side, Another story...". *Must complete the Hades Cup, find all 99 Puppies, seal every Keyhole, and complete Jiminy's Journal to unlock "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]". ''Kingdom Hearts II'' *Player deals normal damage. *Player takes normal damage. *Must complete Jiminy's Journal to unlock "The Gathering". ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'' * Same as above, except that "The Gathering" is unlocked upon completing the game and "Birth by sleep" is unlocked by completing Jiminy's Journal, completing all Gummi Missions, and getting the Gold Crown. ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days *Player takes normal damage. *HP prize recovery is normal. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep *Player deals normal damage. *Player takes normal damage. *Must complete the Report Section and Final Episode to unlock "Blank Points". *On the PSP XMB, there is an empty star attached to the save data file on the memory stick. ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance * Player deals normal damage. * Player takes normal damage. * Must collect seven or more trophies to unlock "Another Guardian of Light". ''Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-'' * Player deals normal damage. * Player takes normal damage. Proud Mode ''Kingdom Hearts Final Mix'' *Gummi Ship deals half damage. *The EXP Zero ability is available. *A "Battle Report" is shown at the end. *Must complete the game to unlock "Another side, Another story...". *Must seal every Keyhole and complete the Hades Cup to unlock "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]". *"FMPR" is written on the top right of the save file. ''Kingdom Hearts II'' * Player takes double damage. * Must unlock all Gates and complete the game to unlock "The Gathering". ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'' * Same as above, except that "The Gathering" is unlocked upon completing the game and "Birth by sleep" is unlocked by completing Jiminy's Journal and getting the Gold Crown. ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days *Player takes 75% more damage. *HP prize recovery is reduced by 30%. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep *Player deals half damage. *Player takes double damage. *Must complete the Final Episode to unlock "Blank Points". *In the PSP XMB, there is a star symbol attached to the save data file on the memory stick. ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance * Player takes 50% more damage. * The EXP Zero ability is available. * Must collect five or more trophies to unlock "Another Guardian of Light". ''Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-'' * Player deals half damage. Critical Mode ''Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix'' *Player takes double damage (compared to Standard). *Player deals 1.25x damage (compared to Standard). *Compared to Standard and Proud, Mushroom XIII deal 1.25x more damage. *Several abilities are granted on the third day (Reaction Boost, Finishing Plus, Draw, 2x Lucky Lucky, MP Hastera and EXP Zero). *Roxas's initial AP is 50. *AP increases by increments of 3 instead of 2. *Maximum potential health is 60 HP instead of 120 HP. *MP gains from Bonus Levels are halved. *EXP gained is 75% of the normal amount. *Save file displays "Critical Mode". *Must get the Gold Crown to unlock "Birth by sleep". *In the PlayStation 2 Browser screen, there is a symbol attached to the save data file on the memory card. ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep *Player deals half damage (compared to Standard). *Player takes double damage (compared to Standard). *The EXP Zero ability is available. *HP gains from Bonus Levels are halved. *Game begins with five command slots instead of three. *Must complete the Final Episode to unlock "Blank Points". *In the PSP XMB, there is a cross symbol attached to the save data file on the memory stick. ''Kingdom Hearts Re:coded *Player deals half damage. *Player takes double damage. ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' * Player deals half damage. * Player takes double damage (compared to Standard). * The EXP Zero ability is available. * Enemies flinch less often. * Bosses activate desperation moves earlier. * Risky Winds happen far more often. * No trophies are required to unlock "Another Guardian of Light". ''Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-'' * Player deals 50% more damage (compared to Standard). * Player takes double damage (compared to Standard). * The effects of Combo Master are removed. * Second Chance and Once More do not take effect if Aqua is not at critical health when a fatal attack lands. * Enemies and destructible items no longer drop HP, MP or Focus prizes. Mission Mode Though not a difficulty level in itself, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days's Mission Mode boasts a difficulty level of its own, that surpasses even Proud Mode in the same game. Regardless of what difficulty you play on in Story Mode, Mission Mode's difficulty stays consistent. Due to its intended multiplayer purpose, designed for two or more players to cooperate, players deal far less damage than usual. With the bonus defense from automatic higher levels for enemies in Mission Mode, players only deal 0.5x damage, and take normal damage. Related trophies ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep ''Kingdom Hearts Re:coded ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' Category:Gameplay